CAS CONNECT 2014

18 Lenoir later moved to Michigan to cover the state capitol for WLNS in Lansing, a CBS affiliate. One of the major stories he worked on involved Guantanamo Bay. The timing of his “Inside the Wire” series came when stories of abuse at Gitmo were just breaking. “From a historical perspective, very interesting, obviously a dubious history,” Lenoir says. “But still, being on the front line of history was interesting, and that ties in when I talk to my students about media and politics.” After his Gitmo coverage, Lenoir took a job in Pittsburgh with ABC affiliate WTAE, but he found he was covering less politics, which motivated him to get back to what he really enjoyed doing. CHOOSING STILLWATER Lenoir received a master’s in polit- ical science and his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, and after adjunct and visiting professorships in Pennsylvania, he was ready to explore another region of the country. Lenoir interviewed with a handful of universities, but after his interview at OSU, he says the decision to move from the east coast to Stillwater was an easy one. “The student population, the land- grant university, and the fact that it’s a research school all fit into the criteria of what I was looking for,” Lenoir says. “And I wanted them to have a good foot- ball team.” PHOTO / BRANDON LENOIR DIVERSE BACKGROUND Lenoir gained political experience working for the Idaho deputy state controller’s office after graduating from Idaho State University. From there, he moved to Washington D.C., lobbying for local and state governments to use the Internet to provide government services. He was doing a lot of privacy and security work concerning the Internet, but after 9/11 and the passage of the Homeland Security Act, many of his proj- ects were eliminated. He reached a “T” in the road. “Do I shift policy focus or do I do a career change?” Lenoir says. “I had already received a few offers to go into television, so I took a job with NBC [affiliate WICS-TV in Springfield, Ill.] and covered politics in the state of Illinois. That was how I got my feet wet in broad- cast journalism.” Lenoir covered Rod Blagojevich’s first gubernatorial campaign and the indictment of Blagojevich’s predecessor, George Ryan, both of whom he joked “are in the same federal prison right now.” He even bumped into a little-known Illinois state senator from Chicago named Barack Obama. Since arriving at OSU, Lenoir has stayed active about getting his students involved and interested in politics. “OSU Debate Series: Decision 2014” was a collaborative effort with Lenoir, his students, and the university to establish OSU’s political science department as the go-to resource in the state when it comes to political questions. The debate series is already receiving a lot of attention. Earlier this year, Sen. Tom Coburn announced his early retire- ment, putting two Senate seats on the Oklahoma ballot this year. C-SPAN and OETA have expressed interest in airing the debates, especially since Coburn is a high-profile senator. On May 1, Lenoir and his students held a preliminary debate with the GOP candidates running for Coburn’s seat. The debate featured Rep. James Lankford, former state Sen. Randy Brogden, and Norman paramedic and EMS instructor Jason Weger. Lankford would go on to win the Republican primary, facing Oklahoma state Sen. Connie Johnson of Oklahoma City in November’s general election. A few months later, on Oct. 2, OSU hosted the state’s only gubernatorial debate between Republican incumbent Mary Fallin and Democratic challenger Joe Dorman, both of whom are OSU alumni.